WeatherNation TV, Inc. has launched its full 24-hour stream on Facebook, making it the first cable television weather channel to make its live schedule available on Facebook, reports Michael Norton, Vice President, WeatherNation TV.
The Facebook launch, Norton notes, should help them publicize the service and strengthen its weather coverage by encouraging viewers to upload and share weather related videos and pictures and communicate with the network's meteorologists on-air through real-time chats.
While the channel is a relatively new service that first launched its standard definition and HD feed this June and currently has relatively limited distribution on some smaller cable and satellite system, Norton adds that they've received some significant interest from two larger operators as well as a number of smaller multichannel providers.
"The interest in the channel has been fantastic," Norton notes.
He adds that the Facebook launch also fits in well with the TV Everywhere initiatives being pushed by operators by demonstrating their ability to offer multiplatform delivery.
Looking forward, he notes they have the capacity to localize the channel for operators, with local forecasts and radar. "It allows a cable operator to offer subscribers an experience similar to The Weather Channel for a fraction of the cost," he says.
